Psalm 10 (New International Version)

1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.

3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

5 His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.

6 He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;
I'll always be happy and never have trouble."

7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.

8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.

9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.

11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees."

12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.

13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account"?

14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.

16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.

17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

Psalm 35 (New International Version)

2 Take up shield and buckler;
arise and come to my aid.

3 Brandish spear and javelin
against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
"I am your salvation."

4 May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back in dismay.

5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them away;

6 may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

7 Since they hid their net for me without cause
and without cause dug a pit for me,

8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.

9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
and delight in his salvation.

10 My whole being will exclaim,
"Who is like you, O LORD ?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them."

11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.

12 They repay me evil for good
and leave my soul forlorn.

13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,

14 I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.

15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
attackers gathered against me when I was unaware.
They slandered me without ceasing.

16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked ^[b] ;
they gnashed their teeth at me.

17 O Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue my life from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.

18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among throngs of people I will praise you.

19 Let not those gloat over me
who are my enemies without cause;
let not those who hate me without reason
maliciously wink the eye.

20 They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.

21 They gape at me and say, "Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we have seen it."

22 O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent.
Do not be far from me, O Lord.

23 Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.

24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, O LORD my God;
do not let them gloat over me.

25 Do not let them think, "Aha, just what we wanted!"
or say, "We have swallowed him up."

26 May all who gloat over my distress
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.

27 May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, "The LORD be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant."

28 My tongue will speak of your righteousness
and of your praises all day long.

Psalm 36 (New International Version)

2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself
too much to detect or hate his sin.

3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;
he has ceased to be wise and to do good.

4 Even on his bed he plots evil;
he commits himself to a sinful course
and does not reject what is wrong.

5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.

9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.

11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!

Psalm 49

2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:

3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the utterance from my heart will give understanding.

4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:

5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me-

6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?

7 No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him-

8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough-

9 that he should live on forever
and not see decay.

10 For all can see that wise men die;
the foolish and the senseless alike perish
and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had named lands after themselves.

12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure;
he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
Selah

14 Like sheep they are destined for the grave,
and death will feed on them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning;
their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.

15 But God will redeem my life from the grave;
he will surely take me to himself.
Selah

16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
when the splendor of his house increases;

17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.

18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—
and men praise you when you prosper-

19 he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life .

20 A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 52 (New International Version)

2 Your tongue plots destruction;
it is like a sharpened razor,
you who practice deceit.

3 You love evil rather than good,
falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
Selah

4 You love every harmful word,
O you deceitful tongue!

5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.
Selah

6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh at him, saying,

7 "Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
and grew strong by destroying others!"

8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God's unfailing love
for ever and ever.

9 I will praise you forever for what you have done;
in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Psalm 109 (New International Version)

 2 for wicked and deceitful men
       have opened their mouths against me;
       they have spoken against me with lying tongues.

 3 With words of hatred they surround me;
       they attack me without cause.

 4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
       but I am a man of prayer.

 5 They repay me evil for good,
       and hatred for my friendship.

 6 Appoint  an evil man  to oppose him;
       let an accuser stand at his right hand.

 7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
       and may his prayers condemn him.

 8 May his days be few;
       may another take his place of leadership.

 9 May his children be fatherless
       and his wife a widow.

 10 May his children be wandering beggars;
       may they be driven from their ruined homes.

 11 May a creditor seize all he has;
       may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

 12 May no one extend kindness to him
       or take pity on his fatherless children.

 13 May his descendants be cut off,
       their names blotted out from the next generation.

 14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD;
       may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.

 15 May their sins always remain before the LORD,
       that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

 16 For he never thought of doing a kindness,
       but hounded to death the poor
       and the needy and the brokenhearted.

 17 He loved to pronounce a curse—
       may it come on him;
       he found no pleasure in blessing—
       may it be far from him.

 18 He wore cursing as his garment;
       it entered into his body like water,
       into his bones like oil.

 19 May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,
       like a belt tied forever around him.

 20 May this be the LORD's payment to my accusers,
       to those who speak evil of me.

 21 But you, O Sovereign LORD,
       deal well with me for your name's sake;
       out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.

 22 For I am poor and needy,
       and my heart is wounded within me.

 23 I fade away like an evening shadow;
       I am shaken off like a locust.

 24 My knees give way from fasting;
       my body is thin and gaunt.

 25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
       when they see me, they shake their heads.

 26 Help me, O LORD my God;
       save me in accordance with your love.

 27 Let them know that it is your hand,
       that you, O LORD, have done it.

 28 They may curse, but you will bless;
       when they attack they will be put to shame,
       but your servant will rejoice.

 29 My accusers will be clothed with disgrace
       and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.

 30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD;
       in the great throng I will praise him.

 31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
       to save his life from those who condemn him.

Psalm 140 (New International Version)

 2 who devise evil plans in their hearts
       and stir up war every day.

 3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's;
       the poison of vipers is on their lips.
       Selah

 4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
       protect me from men of violence
       who plan to trip my feet.

 5 Proud men have hidden a snare for me;
       they have spread out the cords of their net
       and have set traps for me along my path.
       Selah

 6 O LORD, I say to you, "You are my God."
       Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy.

 7 O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,
       who shields my head in the day of battle-

 8 do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD;
       do not let their plans succeed,
       or they will become proud.
       Selah

 9 Let the heads of those who surround me
       be covered with the trouble their lips have caused.

 10 Let burning coals fall upon them;
       may they be thrown into the fire,
       into miry pits, never to rise.

 11 Let slanderers not be established in the land;
       may disaster hunt down men of violence.

 12 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor
       and upholds the cause of the needy.

 13 Surely the righteous will praise your name
       and the upright will live before you.